Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting
Unexpected Thrift Store Find
Photo of a little girl with her father and a black purse.
TikTok/Abrielle Clausing
On January 13, 2021, Abrielle Clausing's world fell apart. Her father unexpectedly passed away from Covid-19. As anyone who has experienced grief knows, the journey isn't a straight one. It ebbs and flows with some days being significantly harder than others.
It was during a "particularly hard grief week" when Abrielle, 24, decided to embark on some retail therapy. She used to love thrifting with her dad, and no one loved a good deal more than he did.
However, she didn't just want to shop for the sake of shopping, she had a very specific item she wanted in mind.
"My sister and I decided to go thrifting and I told her I wanted to find a vintage Fossil brand purse," she explains in a now-viral TikTok video.
And wouldn't you know, Abrielle did indeed end up finding "the cutest vintage Fossil brand purse" - seriously what are the chances?
And as if that wasn't serendipitous enough, it was about to get a whole lot more remarkable.
Inside the purse was a handwritten note:
"When you read this you will be far from me in miles but not in my heart. I'm here. I love you."
Whelp.
She immediately took it as a sign from her beloved dad.
"I knew it was from him," she told People. "I always check the inside of the bag before I buy it to make sure it’s in good condition. When I stuck my hand in it, I felt the piece of paper and when I took it out and found the note, I read it out loud to my sister."
"When I saw the note, it just confirmed that he was with us," she added. "He’s always with us."
Response To The Viral TikTok
TikTok · abrielleclausingAbrielle's heartwarming video has garnered nearly one million views and over 1,000 comments and it's making believers out of every single one of us.
"I'm so afraid that death is final and we just stop existing. But some things can't be explained. There has to be more out there!!"
"This was def him 🥹💙"
"I’m literally crying so hard. Someone would have had to carry me out of the thrift 😭"
"I'm honestly at a loss for words. Wow. Just wow."
Even Fossil weighed in, writing, "What a beautiful note to find. Your dad's love will always be with you. Sending you and your family a big, warm hug."
Her TikTok also opened the floodgates for others to share the signs they've received from lost loved ones.
"My brother passed away & years later I was at a checkout line in the store & at the cash register was a young school photo of him that someone left.... never made sense but I'll never forget it."
"About 30 seconds after bursting in tears thinking about my grandpa a car merged in front of me and the license plate was his name and his age when he died 😭😭"
"When my mom passed, days after I found an email that not me nor my sister had opened or read before. It was an email my mom sent us 4 years before with the message “open it when I’m gone, love, mom”. It had a beautiful letter as an attachment."
Love Lives On
The note Abrielle Clausing found in a Fossil bag while thrifting is now part of a cherished collage.
People.com/Abrielle Clausing
Abrielle has given the note a place of honor, right smack in the middle of a framed collage of her favorite sayings and things.
It's a beautiful reminder that the love she shared with her dad lives on, even though he is gone.
And whether you believe in fate or not, you have to admit the universe had an uncanny way of showing up just when she needed it to.
After all, what are the odds that a stranger penned a note with the exact words she needed to hear, placed it in the exact bag she was looking for, AND that bag ended up in the exact thrift store she was shopping in? Pretty astronomical.
And yet, here we are.
Life is full of unexpected, magical moments that often happen when we least expect it. And sometimes those moments bring us the comfort and connection we need most, reminding us that love...is never truly lost.
You're Already a Leader: Learning to See Your Impact on the World
“I’m not really a leader.”
Not surprisingly, that is a statement I hear quite a bit as a leadership coach. Many people are so caught up in the day-to-day, the have-to’s, that they completely lose sight of the impact they have on the lives of those around them.
“Well, that’s just what I do.”
This is probably the statement I hear almost as much as “I’m not really a leader.” Whether it’s taking care of a 3-year old toddler or a $30 million-dollar business with a hundred employees (or both simultaneously), people begin to see the work they do as normal. They no longer see the extraordinary ideas, effort, and results that are borne of what they see as small, insignificant tasks.
You're Already a Leader: Learning to See Your Impact on the World
Perhaps you are reading this and seeing yourself in these two statements. You are starting to think about the “little things” you do every day and how they impact yourself, others, and the achievement of much broader goals. You are beginning to realize not only how your actions impact others, but that what and how you do those things are unique and special to you. This is your moment of leadership awareness.
See your goals
Many people have goals they can rattle off without much difficulty: a successful career or business. A happy family. Fulfilling relationships. All of these are wonderful and admirable goals.
Yet how much do we truly see our goals? By “seeing" our goals, I mean seeing them for what they really mean to you. What do your goals ultimately say about what you want for your life and the lives of those around you? Goals are not just finish lines off in the distance that you're trying to reach. They are a reflection of who you are, what is important to you, and what you are working towards becoming in the future. Your goals are you. It may not seem like it, but when you sit down and list out all your goals and aspirations, take a moment to see them not as tasks and to-do’s, but instead as a reflection of yourself.
READ: Finding Your Why: How to Discover Your Professional Purpose
Leadership is the ability to motivate and inspire others to strive towards a common goal. By understanding how the goals you have for your career, your business, your family, or your life reflect who you are, you begin to understand your own motivations for reaching those goals. When you know your own motivations, your purpose, you can better understand how to connect to and inspire others, even if what inspires them is different from you.
Identify your influence on others
Influence can be powerful, whether it is wielded like a sword or whispered like a prayer. Influence doesn’t come to us through a fancy title or a big bank account. We all know people who have one or the other yet who inspire little confidence from those around them. Influence can be earned by your skill and ability to produce results. Influence can also flow from your own authentic passion and commitment. Maybe you don’t have the background and pedigree, but others are inspired by something intangible within you that speaks to their own goals and desires, or to their personal feelings towards you. Think about the influence you have in various parts of your life, and identify what it is that draws others to you. Who do you influence and why do they follow your lead?
Leadership requires understanding where your influence comes from and making sure you use it in a way that is aligned with your authentic self and the goals you want to achieve. When your influence is corrupted by things that are detrimental to your goals, or even more importantly, to the people who trust and believe in you, that influence fades quickly. Whatever the source, influence is never taken. It is given, and can be rescinded when abused.
Conscious leadership
Raising your leadership awareness can be an uncomfortable process. Most of us are not taught to sit back and think to themselves, “Why am I so awesome?” We’re taught that humility and hard work are what yield benefits in our lives and careers. We may say things like “Oh, I didn’t really do much” or “Anyone could have done it.”
Yet to truly be a leader, we must begin to tap into the parts of ourselves that are unique and dynamic. We must consciously embrace that there are special traits within us that are so powerful that they inspire others not only to believe in us, but to take incredible actions that defy their own self-perceived limitations and bring us closer to achieving shared goals.
You are already a leader. Now is the time to recognize your leadership abilities and consciously utilize them to make a difference.